


A Quick Fuse

by The_Winter_Writer



Series: Bingo Challenge [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, M/M, POV Tony Stark, Protective Thor, Protective Tony Stark, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Thor Feels, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-03 20:46:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12755901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Writer/pseuds/The_Winter_Writer
Summary: Tony could feel the emotional storm raging at the other end of his soul bond and he wasn't going to let a little thing like Shield stand in the way of him reaching his soul mate.





	A Quick Fuse

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, finally finished this! I injured my hand and it slowed me down a little bit. I was kind of torn on which ship to write for this particular square or how I wanted to handle the trope but I wanted to do something different.
> 
> The third square I'm completing in my quest for a W-shaped bingo is B4: Soulmates.
> 
> *casually steals lyrics from 'Thunder' for a fic title again*

Agent Coulson stood blocking his way wearing an unimpressed frown on his features. “I could have sworn I left you back in Malibu, Stark.” There was something sharp and unrelenting in his gaze.

Tony offered a bright, cheery smile back.

“You did.” He conceded without mentioning what happened in New York but if Coulson hadn’t seen it on the news then Tony certainly wasn’t going to bring that up, “However I’m afraid you have something of _mine_ and I don’t like people touching my stuff.”

He didn’t move and instead continued gazing steadily back at Coulson without a single sign of moving anywhere but forward. Everything had been wrapped up at the Stark Expo, or as wrapped up as it was going to get with so much fire and destruction, and now he was going to deal with _this_.

Maybe this time he could take a long vacation without a maniac ruining it.

“You’re mistaken.”

Tony cocked his head to the side. It was entirely possible Coulson, actually, didn’t know. He had guarded his mark obsessively and had been forced to create technology to hide himself with. With a world that constantly seemed to _need_ to know every little thing about him everything about _this_ was protected to the full extent of his abilities.

He kind of loved that Shield hadn’t weaseled it out from him. The triple impostor had never even caught the slightest whiff of it if the information Fury had shoved across at him, _insulting lies_ he mentally snarled keeping his mask very firmly in place, was any indication. Oh well. Sometimes secrets had to come out and it wasn’t like he was giving away all of his tricks with this one reveal.

“Did you know my thirtieth birthday was more eventful then this last one?” he asked conversationally. Tony watched for any sign that Coulson might know what he was talking about. So far nothing had crossed or cracked the stoic mask that made up the agent’s face. “There was a record breaking storm that had an impressive chunk of California plunged into darkness.”

Something flickered over Coulson’s face.

The storm had made national and even global news. It wasn’t every day that a storm blew in out of nowhere, stealing half a state’s power and filling the sky with a spectacular light show. Tony had only seen video footage of the electric storm that had cut through the dark clouds and danced across the sky.

It had peaked, at one point, hours after it had first blown in and then eased over the next three hours.

“I remember mention of that.”

“It was the day I met my soul mate.” Tony confided with an amused quirk of his lips still not giving everything away. He was playing these cards close to his chest and had no intention of laying them down for Shield. “I know there has been speculation over the years that I don’t have a soul mate because I supposedly don’t even have a soul to match.”

It was one of the most ridiculous things he’d ever heard but he knew it lent credence to the title the media had gleefully given him: The Merchant of Death. Why would someone known as The Merchant of Death deserve a soul mate? It wouldn’t be fair to all those others who believed they deserved to have a perfect match.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting who ended up being my match.” Tony couldn’t stop the fondness in his tone, “Tall, piercing blue eyes and blond hair. I know he could easily break me in half if the mood struck him.”

Tony could see the instant Coulson recognized the description. He should. Jarvis had alerted him the instant the information had transferred from Coulson to Fury. Tony had cut out of the meeting he’d been in immediately and hadn’t even bothered with an excuse.

He’d been waiting, on edge, for any kind of news at that point. Tony had _felt_ his soul mate return to Earth but he hadn’t landed near Tony like he always did and he’d been forced to wait.

Now, with an emotional storm raging at the other end of the bond, he was beyond playing games. Tony didn’t have room for patience or common courtesy. His soul mate _needed_ him and he’d be damned if anyone stood in the way of that.

“Move out of my way.” The fondness in his tone was replaced with threat, all good humor gone, as Tony drew himself up to his full height. He knew it wasn’t an impressive height and that he was surrounded by Shield agents but that didn’t matter. Tony could command any room, with any audience and it wouldn’t matter who thought they were the bigger person. He always came out on top and here, in a makeshift Shield base, that wasn’t going to be any different.

He’d given Jarvis control of his suit on the off chance this went south and knowing his luck as of late that was unfortunately very likely.

“ _That_ is _your_ soul mate?” the tone actually turned incredulous. “You mean to tell me that the man who made my men, some of the most highly trained professionals in the world, look like a bunch of minimum wage mall cops is Tony Stark’s soul mate?”

Tony grinned, sharp and pleased, as Coulson stared at him. “Thor is a sweetheart.”

Sometimes a vicious, vengeful and full of wrath God of Thunder when the mood struck him but Thor was a sweetheart nonetheless.

“Now, Agent, I’ll ask you one more time.” Tony took a step forward. “Move out of my way. I have had a really horrible fucking time for the past year and I’m not in the mood to fuck with Shield. I will, if I have to, but I’m not in the mood for it.”

Coulson stared at him for several seconds more and casually stepped to the side as though they were having an amicable conversation. Tony didn’t say a word and instead followed the warm feeling that signaled Thor. He turned down hallway after hallway, never asking for directions, until he reached the windowed room holding Thor.

Tony’s hand came up to idly rub against his concealed soul mark while he paused to stare at the god he hadn’t seen in over a year.

His soul mate was sitting on a chair, in the middle of an otherwise empty room, surrounded by glass and panels. Thor’s clothing was wet and covered in mud while his hair was damp. The slump of his shoulders spoke of grief and defeat. His bright, full of life God of Thunder – _his soul mate_ –looked completely defeated in a way that Thor never should.

Tony wanted to burn the temporary Shield base to the fucking ground and then go after the rest of the government issued assholes. He’d had it up to there with Shield at this point and this was not helping in the least.

The door opened and he stepped inside. “Thor?”

Immediately agonized blue eyes met his and Tony didn’t have a second before he was being hauled forward into a strong, firm hold. He could feel the way Thor was shaking with obvious grief and the way he threw himself into their bond, seeking warmth and assurance, as Tony gripped him back and shoved every ounce of love, understanding and affection right back in hopes of offering some form of comfort. “ _Anthony_.”

Who had brought the God of Thunder so low?

Who had managed to hurt his soul mate so completely?

Tony felt a brilliant, burning kind of rage twisting inside of him and barely managed to shove it down. “Come on. We’re getting the fuck out of here.” He curled a hand around Thor’s wrist and started to tug him through the room, then the doorway and back through the compound.

“You found me.” Thor sounded wondering even if he still sounded so broken.

“I will always find you.”

The ‘no matter what it took’ was silent and heavily implied. Thor was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. His name and fortune meant _nothing_ to Thor, a Prince and a god, who had lived centuries more than Tony.

Thor was a constant, a precious guarantee in a lifetime of uncertainty, that Tony treasured more than he could ever put into words. He had so few people he could trust, even fewer after Afghanistan, but there would never be a question when it came to Thor.

Thor brushed against him with each step they took as Tony effortlessly guided them back through the compound. The entire time Tony could feel Thor wrapping himself up in their soul bond and holding onto it as though it was the only lifeline he could find.

Tony held on just as tightly.

Coulson tried to protest but Tony didn’t stop and instead kept going until he was out of the base. He took note of the agents staring at them. Tony could see how alert, how hyper focused, they were on the three of them and he didn’t doubt that Thor had left an impression.

“We can’t let you leave the site.”

“Unless you want this compound to be a smoking crater in the Earth I’d back off. You’re not going to get away with threats of Tasers and drooling.” He didn’t bother to look back but Tony did feel Thor shift to the left slightly before his body was a warm line pressed up against Tony’s side. A glance down revealed a small book being tucked away. “Come on, Sparky. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

Thor minutely relaxed against him when Tony curled a hand around his wrist. Tony pulled him towards the waiting vehicle and into the backseat. After a quick instruction to Happy they were moving.

He didn’t protest when Thor hauled him into his lap, arms warm and strong around him, before his soul mate shoved his face against him and breathed in unevenly. “It’s going to be ok.” He promised even though the last time he’d been sure of that everything ended up being on fire.

At least this time everything was still standing and nothing was burning.

Yet.

He still wasn’t sure if he should leave that Shield compound standing.

“Mjolnir?”

Thor never went anywhere without his hammer. His Father hadn’t officially gifted it to him, yet, the last time Tony had seen Thor but his soul mate always had the fabled hammer with him or his battle ax when he was visiting Tony.

“My Father…” Thor’s tone was full of agony, “He found me unworthy and banished me to Midgard. He stripped me of my powers and Mjolnir.”

Tony wanted to wring Odin’s neck. He should be the only one with a shitty father in this soul bond. “Maybe…maybe it’s just a little lesson. He isn’t going to banish you forever.” Surely he wouldn’t. Odin had doted on Thor every time Thor had brought Tony up to Asgard and Loki always seemed closer to their mother than Odin.

What could Thor have done to piss him off so much?

Tony had always figured Loki would be the one to find his ass banished, though temporarily, if either of them were to be banished because he _knew_ Thor was the favorite and Loki seemed to get into more mischief. He hated being wrong especially when his soul mate was in such obvious pain.

He couldn’t remember ever seeing Thor in such a state. Thor was always cheerful and happy and shining so fucking bright that Tony was a bit envious. His handsome soul mate was always full of life and seeking adventure. Always telling him of tales that were centuries old and offering promises of realms he told Tony they could explore.

“Loki informed me that our Father has died and he has taken the burden of the throne.” Thor’s hold tightened, “My Mother has forbidden my return to Asgard.”

That was bullshit.

“That’s…that’s your home!” Tony tightened his own hold and ignored the fact that his suit was truly ruined. There was no coming back from this mess but he didn’t fucking care. Thor’s end of the bond was in agony and Tony _hated_ it. “They can’t banish you permanently!”

Thor shook his head.

“Fine.” He felt the thrum of their soul bond, “Fine. You can stay with me it doesn’t matter if we’re on Asgard or Earth. I have plenty of homes. Do you prefer the ocean or the mountains? Or would you rather live in a city?” but the longer he sought out the warmth of the bond the more obvious it became that something was muting Thor. Their bond had always felt _more_ than what he’d read about and he had known it was augmented because of Thor’s godhood. “Anywhere you want to live. Just name it and that’s where we’ll go. Anything you want or need or desire…it’s yours.”

He could create, build and conduct business from anywhere. The Iron Man suit meant he could get there even faster.

“Or we could—”

Thor turned his head and Tony could tell the moment his soul mate had felt the hard metal of the arc reactor.

_Three_

_Two_

_One_

“What is that?”

Thor pulled back abruptly and immediately started yanking up his shirt, shoving it out of the way, while Tony tried not to flail off Thor’s lap. “Hey. It’s fine—”

The bright blue of the arc reactor lit Thor’s face and Tony watched emotions play across Thor’s handsome features.

Surprise

Confusion

Realization

Building fury

“Who did this to you?” the tone was hard, unforgiving and furious, as fingers brushed against it, over shrapnel scars, and if it had been anyone else Tony would have flinched away but this was his soul mate. Thor would _never_ harm him. He could feel that reassurance through the bond. “Why did you not call for me?” now Thor’s tone was hurt.

That was just it.

Tony had, ridiculously, wanted to prove himself worthy. To be worthy of the God of Thunder himself. Tony had fought and clawed and dragged himself to freedom in that cave. He’d built himself armor, set himself a mission and had set out to right the wrongs that had unknowingly been committed in his name.

If he had failed to find a way to save himself from being poisoned to death Tony had planned on one final Hail Mary: calling Thor. He’d heard tales of Asgard’s healing capabilities but Tony didn’t want to be a damsel in distress. He wanted to be capable, to prove himself and to show that having a soul mate didn’t make you weaker. Not like his…not like Howard had claimed.

It made him stronger and he wouldn’t let it do anything else.

Tony laughed self-deprecatingly. “I wanted to be worthy of you.” He admitted. It was foolish and he’d caused so much damage but he’d learned something about himself. Tony had grown in ways he’d never imagined and he couldn’t imagine going back to that point before he’d become aware. “I didn’t want to call you if I could save myself.”

Thor stared at him, a frown pulling at his features, as the hand not holding Tony on his lap stroked the arc reactor carefully. “What is its purpose?”

This wasn’t going to end well.

“I was hit by one of my bombs.” Tony started and felt Thor tensing under him, “This keeps the shrapnel from shredding my heart.”

Thor stared.

“There are pieces of sharp metal still embedded in my chest.” He winced, “This is keeping me alive.”

Thor must have sensed something on Tony’s side of the bond because he could see Thor visibly force himself away from asking how it was that Tony had been hurt by one of his own weapons. That was a conversation he’d rather wait to have. Tony knew exactly how protective Thor was and it would probably be for the best that he wouldn’t be in control of his powers when he did find out.

Lips brushed against the glow in a soft kiss, “It looks as though you’ve captured a star.” Tony’s next breath came out uneven. Trust Thor to try to see the beauty in something otherwise horrific. “Our Healers could have restored you.” Pain flashed across Thor’s handsome face. “Now I have been banished.”

Blue eyes tracked up to look at his face and Tony watched the frown return. This time a beat of concern flashed at Thor’s end of their bond and Tony blinked in confusion.

“You have aged." Thor's fingers brushed against his face. "That should not be possible. Our bond ties your existence to mine.”

“Oh.”

Tony grinned, actually forgetting the technology he wore near constantly, and reached up to remove the tech disguising a fact he’d realized only when Pepper had mentioned how he didn’t appear to be aging. “More of your magic?”

“Normal humans age, Thor.” Tony grinned into the kiss when Thor pulled him down, fingers tangling in his hair and holding him close. They broke for air and Tony continued, “Sadly not everyone hits the soul mate lottery and ends up with a literal god. It isn’t normal for humans to stop aging even when they’ve officially bonded with their soul mate.” His lips quirked, “People were asking questions. Thankfully I’m a genius and found a way to disguise myself. And it’s science not magic. Magic is your brother’s specialty.”

“Tony, you know where I come from they are one and the same.”

That was a debate they were not getting into again. No matter how good of a distraction it would be from everything else.

Fingers brushed against the soft skin of his face now smooth and unlined though Tony didn’t doubt there were bags under his eyes after the nightmare he’d just dealt with. He’d caught a few hours on the flight to New Mexico and now he was running on spite. Spite and fury at Shield’s treatment of his soul mate.

“Of course my mate wouldn’t age upon our bonding. I would not be gifted a mate who would age and die long before me. Not even the Norns would be as cruel as to separate soul bonds in such a way.”

Thor’s tone was completely offended and Tony laughed lowly. The sadness from earlier was somewhat lessened as Thor grasped the distraction Tony had offered. He would offer as many distractions as needed if it helped keep that sadness at bay.

“Trust me. Getting my soul mate and the fountain of youth for my thirtieth birthday was a hell of gift.” He frowned as he looked at Thor, “If…if you were…you’re not going to age and leave me, are you?”

The thought was horrifying. He loved dodging that whole aging bullet thing but he didn’t want to watch his soul mate age and die. Tony didn’t think he could deal with that. The bond between them, the comforting thrum that signaled Thor, was something he couldn’t lose. He could give up everything else but not _this_.

“No. Only my powers and Mjolnir were taken. Don’t worry, Tony.”

A warm hand curled at the nape of his neck and pulled him forward so their foreheads were resting together.

“I shall try to reach out to Loki. Perhaps he’ll grant you admittance into Asgard to be healed. You have done nothing to deserve having our Healers unavailable to restore your health because of my banishment.” A thumb stroked his skin idly, “Loki is quite fond of you. I’m sure he’ll make an exception.”

Maybe if he’d reached out to Thor instead to taking everything on himself there might have been something he could have done to prevent this. Thor was larger than life. His soul mate commanded the rooms he stepped into, much like Tony, and held himself in a way befitting of his title of Prince. Thor wasn’t that defeated man that Tony had seen in Shield custody.

“Hey…we’ll get her back, big guy. Mjolnir belongs with you.”

“If your faith were enough there is nothing I couldn’t accomplish.” Thor leaned back into the seat and Tony allowed himself to be dragged close once again. Even with his true self muted Thor was still quite obviously stronger than Tony or the average human.  It lent credence to Thor’s assurance that he wouldn’t age and leave Tony by himself.

Tony grinned, “You’ll find there are few people or things I can’t out stubborn.” He plucked Thor’s filthy clothing, “You need a hot shower, a huge meal and soft sheets. Possibly even some ‘I haven’t seen you in over a year’ sex to end the night with a bang.” He really couldn’t resist the pun.

“Of course.” An indulgent smile appeared on Thor’s face and Tony relaxed against him. The weight of his masks and public persona were always alleviated when his soul mate was there. He could be himself instead of what everyone else saw or assumed about him. Not seeing Thor for a year had taken its toll on him but Thor had mentioned he was needed in Asgard. “But first I must return this to Jane.”

A small book was held up and Tony reached out to take it. He absently flicked through it. It was fascinating. “Jane?”

“Jane Foster. She hit me with her car.”

Tony blinked and then snorted. “Of course someone would hit you with their car and you’d try to find them to return their notes.” He flicked through it and found himself increasingly impressed.

Jane Foster was clearly a genius in her own field.

“Alright. Jane, shower, clothing, food and bed. Possibly some bed breaking sex.” Tony mentally fantasized at the thought because no one did sex like a god of fertility or a soul mate. He’d missed Thor but he’d also missed the mind-blowingly awesome sex. “I think we can swing that.” a kiss pressed against his temple and Tony basked in the warmth of their soul bond. "We'll figure everything out in the morning."

Maybe in the morning he could find a way to tell Thor he’d accidentally become a superhero.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes...I basically threw out a bunch of the stuff from pre-IM1, IM1, IM2 and Thor for this. Yay fanfic and cherry-picking MCU canon and fucking up the rest of it! Got to love having a bunch of stuff to pull from. I did borrow Coulson's description of Thor tearing through "his men". Though I would like to point out that this Thor has been soul bonded to Tony Stark since Tony was 30 and he know quite a bit more about Earth as opposed to the Thor who is exposed to it in MCU canon.
> 
> I don't think I've seen any soul mate fics like this one but I wanted to try something different. Plus I wanted to give Tony a chance to be protective over Thor because I love protective Tony and, of course, Tony is the perfect cuddle size.
> 
> Basically that means I've tricked some of you into reading a bit of an unconventional soul mate fic. I feel a bit guilty about not writing the actual meeting, only hinting at it, but there is a good chance I'll end up writing that. Most soul mate fics focus on the meeting but I wanted to look at something years down the line after the meeting/bonding. Ugh...I'm hoping I didn't fuck this one up since I took some liberties and looked at this whole bit in a completely different way twisted with an established relationship/soul bond. I want to think that these two being bonded/in a relationship for years would change some things but not everything.
> 
> So what did you think about my third bingo square fic? I think I did alright with my first fic using the soulmate trope...I'll have to wait to see what you all thought, huh? There were four different ways I thought to take the "soulmate" square but this one seemed the most interesting/unconventional choice.


End file.
